Chapter 30
THIRTY
Now is not the time to think about diamonds. But part of me is jumping up and down inside.
Squeeeeee
Okay, okay. I am not rubbing my thumb over my ring finger. Clenching my fist, I remind myself there’s plenty of time for that later. We’re on a mission.
Justice taps my shoulder and motions us forward. Crouching low, I follow in his footsteps.
This is so cool.
And I’m not talking about the evaporative cooling from the sweat between my boobs.
Part of me is terrified, but also weirdly fascinated with this whole sneaky, covert mission thing. It’s very movie-like…with worse consequences.
We pause, and like magic, the exterior door unlocks. Somewhere far away an electronic angel who works with Agile Security & Rescue is controlling the gigantic building.
Whew. This is getting real.
“You okay?” Justice whispers and I startle when the sound of his voice blooms inside my head.
I cannot believe a microphone on my molar sounds like he’s in my brain.
Who knew dental appliances could be so freaking amazing?
“Yep,” I reply, keeping it simple, just like Justice told me to.
Keep the channel clear, no chit chat, he’d said.
So, I don’t tell him, I’m gonna need a shower the minute we get back to the safe house.
Oh my god, that’s going to feel soooo good.
A very dirty vision of us getting clean together pops into my head. Suds and um…hands everywhere. His hands.
My god, just being near the man corrupts my brain.
“You just moaned.” He chuckles softly, sending shivers all over my body. Heavens, I love that sound. It sends a tingle straight to my clit.
“Ooops,” I breathe, fanning my face.
I’m a freaking mess. Hot. Cold. Sweaty. Goosebumps. Aroused!
Working in the lab never caused this kind of response. But the missing denominator is him. All him.
“Pssst,” he hisses and makes a hand signal and we advance, AKA move forward.
One hand on my bear-spray holster, the other on Justice’s back, I follow him through the silent hallways.
Most of the lights have been killed by the magician behind the keyboard at Agile.
While that’s impressive, I’m more impressed with the man in front of me. Justice is a grade-A badass. The way he moves from hallway to hallway, silently, is pure magic.
I’m just trying to ignore the pinch in my left foot. These borrowed boots are a bit too tight.
Two minutes later we enter the lab where Westerly was forcing me to work. It’s instantly harder to keep my focus.
Yikes. Something about the lab feels wrong the moment we step inside.
The lights are dim thanks to the team taking control, but it’s the air that feels wrong. Stale and unforgiving.
I draw in a breath to calm my nerves. Focus, Rosalie. Get in. Get out.
But it’s almost like the place knows we don’t belong here.
That’s just weird, I berate myself. The air doesn’t know anything.
Justice moves first, scanning the corners of the room, clearing all the places where someone could hide.
Even a dust bunny wouldn’t be safe from his inspection.
His movements are deliberate, quiet. Mine aren’t nearly as stealthy.
Tugging on my vest, I count out a four-breath cycle. Slow down, I tell my nervous system. But the zoomies in my chest don’t listen.
He glances over his shoulder, inspecting my expression before saying, “Lead the way.”
“Back room,” I whisper. “Cold storage. Lower level.”
If it’s still there. Fingers metaphorically crossed, I take the lead.
Behind me now, he urges, “Let’s move faster.”
I salute him.
We skirt past the glass partitions. The sole of the boots feel unfamiliar, almost sticking faintly to the tile. The pinch of the toe box gets even more pronounced, like all of my nerve endings are on fire.
Wait…is this tension some kind of trauma response from being held here?
“You’re okay.” I whisper, before I catch myself.
Justice grabs the back of my vest and pulls me to a stop. “What’s up?”
His gaze skates over me, worried, as if he sees through my cracks.
I give him a thumbs up, making sure my hand doesn’t shake.
He doesn’t look convinced, but lets me go.
The faint hum of refrigeration in the cold storage room grows louder as we approach the keypad on the wall.
I’m buzzing, every sound feels too loud as I shake out my hand.
“Code?” Justice asks.
“I only know one. Hope it still works.”
They used a code I wasn’t supposed to see, but I memorized them by the tones that accompanied the buttons being pushed.
Six-one-seven.
“Say a good luck prayer,” I say as I raise my hand.
The panel is cold to the touch, but the tones are exactly like I remember. Three days of fear while I was being held etched them into my brain.
The lock clicks open. The mechanical noise ricochets off metal and tile and I drop my head and breathe, thank god.
Another obstacle checked off a list of many.
But before I slip into the cold storage room, Justice grabs my arm, halting me beside him.
There’s a new hum of energy…this one is his energy, and it’s on higher alert.
The rapid change makes my skin prickle.
His head tilts, listening, as his vision stays on the floor. He’s a finely tuned specialist. This is his domain.
I hear nothing but the sound of the building’s systems vibrating around us.
Go, he motions with his right hand.
I leap into action, bear spray bumping against my hip, boot pinching extra hard. The chilly air inside the storage room instantly wraps around me.
This feels familiar. My breath fogs the air as I kneel to scan the pill-shaped sample vials.
The shelves look organized, but it’s the wrong kind of order. This isn’t how it was when I was made to work here.
“Someone’s been through these,” I whisper as dread turns my fingertips cold. “I don’t see it.”
“Is there another place?” Justice asks, keeping his eyes on the main doorway to the lab.
“They must have moved it somewhere else,” I mutter to myself. I’m shivering, sorting through the inventory when my eye catches on something.
An anomaly. “This label doesn’t match the others.”
I’m talking to myself.
Quickly I twist open the sample’s lid. It’s dirt. In a risky move, I bring it to my nose. “Oh this is it! Sneaky devils.”
“You can tell by the scent?” Justice asks motioning to all the similar containers.
“Yes, I’ve worked with this bit of earth a lot,” I say as I screw the lid back on.
“Plus, all those other capsules probably doesn’t hold dirt.
They mostly deal with manmade chemicals here.
Although they could have changed the dirt with any old dirt.
But the nose knows. I would be able to tell instantly. ”
A grin spreads over my face, the satisfaction a warming wave. “Come on. Let’s roll, boyfriend.”
He’s staring at me now, not the door with something almost star-struck in his gaze. “Damn. You called me, boyfriend.”
I shrug innocently. “Isn’t that what a tracking necklace spells?”
He jerks me to my feet by the shoulder strap on my vest and crashes his mouth against mine. The kiss is so utterly possessive, I almost drop the sample.
I’m a little dazed when he pulls back, taking the container from my hand. “I’ll keep a hold of this. You just concentrate on staying close. Got it?”
“Anything you say,” I breathe, my reply a throaty whisper. I don’t remember ever hearing that sound come out of me before.
He tucks our precious cargo into a pocket on his vest, but his head whips to the left, hand going up in the halt signal.
Ryker’s voice appears in my head, “Heat signature on the way to you.”
Scarier words have rarely been said.
“ETA?” Justice asks.
“Sixty seconds.”